Extra cozy chicken and brown rice soup all cooked up in the Instant Pot! Made with juicy chicken, tender vegetables, flavorful brown rice, delicious seasoning, and a touch of creaminess. It's healthy, easy to make, and only requires 10 minutes of prep time, then let the Instant Pot do all the work. Finish with fresh lemon juice and serve with crusty bread for dipping!
This is a tasty weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family will love! It's comforting and filling but also healthy. Made with simple ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your kitchen, this is a great go-to soup for the fall and winter seasons.
Why you'll love my Instant Pot chicken and rice soup recipe
- Everything is cooked in the Instant Pot. Vegetables are sautéed using the sauté feature, then everything else is added and cooked on high pressure. No extra pots or pans are needed!
- Super flavorful. Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and ground nutmeg really amp up the cozy flavors of the soup.
- Light creaminess. I like to add a can of full-fat coconut milk, giving the soup a lightly creamy consistency. It's so delicious! It does not make the soup taste like coconut. For an even creamier soup, you can use heavy cream or half and half.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts (or boneless skinless chicken thighs)
- Yellow onion
- Celery stalks
- Carrots
- Garlic cloves
- Long grain brown rice (or long grain white rice)
- Chicken broth
- Full fat coconut milk (or heavy cream or half and half)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Poultry seasoning
- Ground nutmeg
- Lemon
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient list.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup couldn't be easier to make! Everything is cooked right in the Instant Pot using the sauté feature and pressure cooking.
- Step 1: Sauté the vegetables. Using the handy sauté feature, you'll sauté onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until soft.
- Step 2: Add remaining ingredients. Next, you'll add chicken broth, coconut milk, rice and seasoning.
- Step 3: Pressure cook. You'll cook the soup on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Step 4: Shred chicken. Once the soup has finished cooking and the pressure has been released, shred the chicken and add back to the soup along with fresh squeeze lemon juice to brighten the soup up!
- Step 5: Enjoy! I love to serve with crusty bread for dipping!
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full instructions.
Frequently asked questions
Do you precook the rice before adding to the soup?
There's no need to precook the rice before adding it to the soup! Adding uncooked rice to the soup allows it to absorb the flavors of the broth while it cooks, making it extra flavorful! Plus, this will save you so much time! If you were to pre-cook the long-grain brown rice on the stove, it would take you an extra 40 minutes.
Does the rice soak up broth in the soup?
While the rice cooks in the chicken broth, it soaks up just enough liquid to cook the rice, making it soft and extra delicious.
How do you add rice to soup without it getting soggy?
Unlike soup made with pasta, you don't have to worry about the rice absorbing all of the broth and getting soggy. The rice can be cooked directly in the soup. Even when reheating the soup, I found that there was still plenty of liquid.
Can you use water instead of chicken broth in the Instant Pot?
Yes, you can use water instead of chicken broth but the soup will not be as flavorful as when it's made with chicken broth.
Does chicken have to be covered in liquid in the instant pot?
Normally chicken doesn't need to be completely covered in liquid in the Instant Pot, but for this Chicken and Rice Soup recipe, there's lots of chicken broth in the pot, covering the chicken breasts.
Can you pressure cook soup too long?
The vegetables and rice can get mushy if you pressure cook the soup too long. I find pressure cooking on high for 15 minutes is the perfect amount of time for chicken soup.
Can I use long grain white rice instead of brown rice?
I recommend using long grain brain rice as the recipe calls. Long grain brown rice takes about twice the amount of time to cook compared to long grain white rice. The brown rice and chicken both cook perfectly on high pressure for 15 minutes. The white rice may end up overcooked, but if you're in a pinch, feel free to try white rice.
Alternatively, you could cook the white rice on the stove while the soup cooks in the Instant Pot. But, you will then need to reduce the amount of broth in the soup, probably by 2 cups. I haven't tested this myself.
Does the coconut milk make the soup taste like coconut?
I like the light creaminess that the coconut milk adds, and it does NOT make the soup taste like coconut! But, you can substitute heavy cream or half and half if preferred. You could also skip the cream altogether and just use more broth!
Tips for the best Instant Pot chicken and rice soup
- Use good quality chicken. Using good quality chicken breasts or thighs, will result in more fork tender chicken.
- Use long grain brown rice. The cook time for long grain brown rice matches up perfectly with the cook time required for the chicken. But, sometimes you just want to use the rice you have on hand, so see the notes section in the recipe card for alternative options.
- Adjust seasoning to taste. Once the soup has finished cooking, adjust the seasoning, salt, and pepper to your personal liking.
- Finish with lemon. Lemon juice adds a bright acidity to help balance the cozy flavors of the soup.
Storage & reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Reheat individual portions in the microwave until warm. If you would like to reheat a large amount of soup in the Instant Pot, here are a few ways to do it.
- Sauté feature. Set to sauté and heat the soup, stirring frequently, until warm.
- Pressure cook. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and set the time to 1 minute. As the Instant Pot comes to pressure, it will heat ups the soup. Once it's done, quick release the pressure.
- Keep warm feature. To slowly reheat the soup, you can set the Instant Pot to the keep warm feature.
Alternatively, you can reheat the soup on the stove in a large pot. Heat over medium, stirring frequency, until warm.
You can freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More recipes you'll love
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Cozy Instant Pot Chicken and Brown Rice Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 large carrots peeled and diced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 can full fat coconut milk (or 1 ¾ cups heavy cream or half and half)
- 1 pound chicken breasts (2-3 breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs)
- 1 cup long grain brown rice uncooked
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon juiced (about 2-3 tablespoons)
- parmesan cheese for serving, optional
- easy no-knead crusty bread for serving, optional
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on to the sauté feature. Add the olive oil, onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté another minute.
- Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, chicken breasts, rice, poultry seasoning, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Lock the lid on and set the valve to seal. Set to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. When the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release.
- Remove the chicken to a plate or cutting board and shred. Add the chicken back to the soup along with the lemon juice. Serve with parmesan cheese and my easy no-knead crusty bread for dipping!
Notes
- Chicken breasts. If preferred, feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. There's no need to adjust the cooking time.
- Long grain brown rice. Long grain brown rice works great for this recipe because it takes awhile to cook, about 40 minutes on the stove. The chicken and brown rice cook up perfectly together in the Instant Pot. I don't recommend using long grain white rice because it cooks up in half the time, so it may end up mushy. Alternatively, if you don't have long grain brown rice, you can cook your rice on the stove, separately, according to package directions, then add it to the soup once it's finished cooking. Reduce the broth in the soup by 2 cups.
- Coconut milk. I like the light creaminess that the coconut milk adds. It does not make the soup taste like coconut. But, you can substitute heavy cream or half and half. You could also skip the cream altogether and just use more chicken broth!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated by a third party software and is only an estimate, not a guarantee. This information is provided as a courtesy, and you are solely responsible for all decisions related to your health.
Mary VanAelst
This was so good! Really easy to make! Definitely a recipe to add to the regular rotation!
Kelly A.
So easy and so delicious! Even my grandkids (3, 6, 8) loved it!
Thank you for sharing!
Modern Farmhouse Eats
Kelly, thanks for giving the recipe a try and for leaving a review! I'm so glad your family loved it!